Improved defensive armor for ships and other batteries



UNITED STATES i PATENT OFFICE.

GERVASE B. MANLEY, OF DANVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVED DEFENSIVE ARMOR FOR SHIPS AND OTHER BATTERIES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 37,402, dated January13, 1863.

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, GnRvAsE B. MANLEY, of Danville, county of Montour,and State ot' Pennsylvania, have invented a new and usei'ul Improvementin Armors for War-Vessels and Fortications; and I do hereby declare thatthe following is a full, clear, and exact description of theconstruction of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings,making a part of this specicatiomin which- Figure l is a verticallongitudinal section of a portion of armor for war-vessels andfortifications, being a number of tongued and grooved bars, c, placedtogether and fastened by means of rivets b. Fig. 2 is a perspective viewof the saine. Fig. 3 shows a modification in the construction of thebars, one set of alternate bars having tongues on each side, and theother alternate bars having corresponding grooves, the tongues of oneset of bars iitting in the grooves of the other set. Fig. 4 showsanother modiiication in the construction of the bars, all the bars beinggrooved on each side and united by means of independent tongues.

Like letters in all the igures represent the saine parts.

The nature of my invention consists inthe construction of the sides anddecks of warvessels with bars of wrought-iron or steel, which aretongued and grooved and iitted together in the manner which I willhereinafter describe.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willproceed to describe its construction.

In Figs. l and 2, a a a a a c represent a series of bars of rolledwrought-iron or steel, which constitute a portion of armor forwarvessels and fortications, the bars being held together by rivets b,placed at suitable distances apart, each rivet passing through two ormore bars. Instead of rivets, bolts with a head on one end and a nut onthe other may be used, if preferred. The bars are constructed with atongue, c, on one side and a correspondin g groovein the other, runningthroughout their whole length, so that the tongue of each bar tits inthe corresponding groove. ot' an adjacent bar. The bars should be abouttwo inches in thickness, and may vary in widthv from four to eightinches, according to the strength required for the armor inwar-vessels,

but in the walls of fortifications the width may be greater or thethickness of the walls may be increased by having two or more lay ers ofbars placed transversely. The grooves should be equal to one-half thethickness ot' the bars, so as to produce a uniform thicknessv in thelatter.

In Fig. 3 I show a modification in the construction ot" the bars, oneset of alternate bars having tongues on each side, and the other set ofalternate bars having corresponding grooves on each side, so that thetongues of one set of bars may iit in the grooves oi the adjacent bars.

In Fig. 4 I show another modiiication in the construction of the bars,each bar having grooves in each side,there being independent tongues c',which unite the bars together.

Bars of wrouglitiron and steel constructed as described can be readilyconstructed by the usual process of rolling, so as to iit snuglytogether,`without being subjected to the tedious and expensive operationof planing incidental to the construction oi' tongued and groovedplates.

It will appear evident that the walls and decks of vessels can beconstructed entirelyT of these rolled bars without the necessity ot`wooden hulls, as the rivets or bolts passing through the middle of thebars and at right angles to their broad surfaces, hold them togetlier sosecurely as to give great sti'liness to the vessels. W oodenhulls ofvessels already constructed may be advantageously covered with theserolled bars, and which will be less expensive than hammered plates. Theexpense of my improved armor, according to accurate calculations which Ihave recently made, does not exceed one-half of that of the armorheretofore used. It will evidently appear that by tonguing and groovingthe sides or broad surfaces of the bars and contining them together bymeans of rivets or bolts, as represented, that niuch greater stiffnessis secured to the armor than when thick plates or slabs are used andplaced with their broad surfaces parallel to the planes of the vesselsor fortications.

I am aware that metallic armorplates have before been laid in planesperpendicular to the surfaces to be protected, and have been secured bytonguing and grooving, and by horizontal and vertical bolts in variousways.

I am also aware that the principle of securing bodies of Wood or metaltogetherby means of dowels or bolts passing through tongues and groovesis not new in itself; but

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

The combination of the plates a, tongues c or c', and bolts or rivets b,when the said plates are placed in planes perpendicular to the surfacesto be protected, the bolts or rivets passed directly through the tonguesin the center of the'plates and perpendicularly'to the latter, and allthe parts constructed, arranged, and secured in the manner and for thepurposes specified.

GERVAsE, BQ MANLEY. [L s] Attest:

E. G. HEYLMUN, H'. D HEYLMUN..

